By Michael Krimper
Manchester-born electronic musician Jega (a.k.a. Dylan Nathan) decided to scrap and rework his third full length effort after a blueprint version leaked on the internet in 2003. Six years later we finally see its completion. Contributing to the project’s extended delay, Jega traveled across the Atlantic to relocate to New York and now Los Angeles where he works in digital design, a profession which certainly helps inform his versatile, multi-textured sound. But this six-year journey across the globe have worked auspiciously for Jega’s scrapped project. Finally released as a double-sided record, Variance, out tomorrow on Planet Mu, spans spatial and temporal spheres of sonic influence. The versatile and multi-layered sonic textures do not adhere rigidly to their originally inspired moment, but rather take inspiration from contemporary visions of dub-step, ambient, and IDM.
The first volume of Variance develops a lighter, hypnotic sound architected from a pastiche of soulful breaks and modulated atmospherics. The broken melodies of the introductory track “SoulFlute” lace skidding vocals over break beat jazz and airy flute riffs. In “The girl who fell to earth”, a melancholic background resonance grows like cumulus clouds organizing before a storm, allowing the pressure to build and the sharp drum kicks to gasp for release. However, in much of the first volume Jega sails comfortably, producing well orchestrated music that feels cold and distant. It’s the second volume that really displays Jega’s talent for experimenting with sound, rhythm, and texture. For Volume 2, Jega invert the first’s dreamy aesthetic, producing a starkly dissonant and aggressive sound. Variance builds tempo in loping yet unpredictable crystalline arrangements, climaxing with the laser infused, jungle percussion of “Kyoto” and “Hydrodynamic”. These songs still rely heavily on the first volume for contrast, as Variance is primarily a lesson in sonic context and the holistic architecture that holds an album together. It’s a breath of fresh air to hear such cohesive diversity even if many of the singles don’t stand out on their own.